Promotion System in the Army: Dealing with Peacetime Atrophy

In practice, it has been found that a peacetime army tends to atrophy and lose its war fighting orientation. It develops a lopsided emphasis on peacetime routine, spit and polish. In fact, a wartime army may well be the very anti-thesis of a peacetime army. Years of non-use of the military instrument sometimes results in the rusting of its value system and ethos. It is a primary challenge for military leaders, therefore, to maintain and sustain peak combat efficiency during spells of peace; to anticipate the nature of future conflicts and organize, equip and train the army to prepare for these.